A Morning Walk
by BGlanders
Summary: What perils await a reformed villainess on her way to breakfast? Only time, and this story, will tell.


A Morning Walk

A Teen Titans fic by BGlanders

000

It was a chilly, crisp spring morning as Jinx, newly reformed villain and official member of the Teen Titans roster, made her way to her favorite breakfast diner for her morning sandwich and coffee. Her jacket, glasses and hat did little to hide her identity if anyone was seriously paying attention, but to the casual observer she looked like just another teenager out for a morning stroll.

Besides, even if she was recognized, the sight of a super hero walking around had become so common-place that she doubted anyone would say anything, provided they actually knew she was now a hero.

It was for this reason that Jinx tended to go the disguise route more than her fellow Titans. She knew that she could easily be confused for a villain, and after having three separate incidents where the police had been alerted to her presence in the city, she really didn't feel like a repeat performance, especially before breakfast. All she wanted at this point was a nice, normal morning, free of hassle.

It wasn't very often that Jinx had the opportunity to do something that most would call 'normal'.

Sure, she had time on her hands, and it wasn't like she was constantly needed back at the Tower, but that wasn't the issue. After all, with the massive roster of heroes available to help at a moment's notice, Jump City had actually become a pretty calm and crime-free metropolis. Besides, even if there was an emergency, she noted that most of the other Titans were rather hesitant to go on missions in her company.

"You try to kill a group of people a couple of times, and suddenly no one trusts you anymore…" She mumbled to herself as she continued down the street.

No, her issue was with the concept of just being a normal teenager. For years, she had been a known criminal, and as a result had never just enjoyed the simple pleasures of daily life. This was why she loved getting up early (when she felt like it, at least) and heading to her favorite breakfast diner instead of joining the others at the Tower. She wanted to get out and feel like everybody else. For her, it was almost exciting, and besides…

"Besides, they never really seem comfortable around me there, anyway."

Jinx often times went through this line of thinking as she went on these walks. Sure, she had made a fast friend in Starfire, and Argent and Kole seemed to like her just fine. Plus, she had Kid Flash as a boyfriend, which was honestly a big selling point for her to stay on the straight and narrow.

Still, Raven always eyed her warily, and most of the others (save for Robin, who had made a point to try to make her feel welcome) hadn't been rude, but hadn't really been welcoming, either.

Then there was the question of why was she doing all this in the first place? Was it just for a boy? Was it for approval? What if tomorrow Wally decided that he wanted a different girl? They'd had fights about his flirting, and she knew that he hands weren't the only things capable of wandering.

This was the usual pattern of thought Jinx followed on her morning walks. Usually she would get around to telling herself to suck it up and not feel so bad about herself, and that trust had to be earned, not given.

She would eventually remind herself that Robin gave her a Titans communicator without her asking, and that she was a member, through thick and thin. She had a home, she had friends, and she had a paycheck provided by a joint fund from Wayne Enterprises, Star Labs and the Jump City Police Department.

The awesomeness of that last part still blew her away when she thought about it.

Eventually if left unbothered, her mind would drift down these roads and her morning would be relatively calm.

Of course, that all depended on gunshots **not** going off in the business she was standing in front of.

Jinx took cover behind a mailbox and tried to assess the situation as bullets shattered the giant glass windows in front of the store she was beside. At first she thought someone was shooting at her, but then she realized (with some morbid relief) that people were running and screaming in general, and not from her specifically.

A quick glance of the situation told her everything she needed to know. Three robbers, each armed with a semi-automatic weapon were attempting to rob the local Starbucks. At least half a dozen bystanders were trapped inside by the first gunman whose back was to the front of the building. The second was holding up the counter while the third waved his gun around wildly towards the front of the shop.

"And there's our shooter," Jinx mumbled.

Now, there were several ways this could go down, Jinx thought to herself. She could call the Titans for backup, but it seemed rather silly to request help for three common thugs. She could also do nothing and let the robbers get away. This was actually pretty high on her list, as Mr. Twitchy up front was likely to seriously hurt someone if she stepped up. Another, third little voice in her head idly wondered what the take would be on a job like this, and to Jinx's satisfaction, she found herself disgusted that she let herself go down that route.

"Come on man, get with the cash!" The robber at the counter was becoming increasingly agitated as the poor barista, a lanky, freckled teen, desperately tried to stuff the contents of his register into the thief's bag.

"Hurry it up, Pete!" The one by the front yelled, "Dude, this is taking too long!"

"Don't use our names, moron!" Pete yelled back.

Jinx sighed to herself and rubbed her forehead for a second. In that moment, she came to a decision: these guys needed to be taken down, as they were too stupid to be trusted to not hurt anyone during this mess.

As the twitchy robber looked over his shoulder to inform Pete that he was indeed not a moron, his words were cut off by a blast of pink energy slamming into his head. The blast threw him backwards, crashing into a nearby table and knocking him out, cold.

"What the…" was all the robber at the counter could manage before a second blast struck his gun hand, causing his gun to fall apart before he could pull the trigger. As he looked towards the front of the store in shock, a small black figure charged in, flipped over a table between them, and roundhouse kicked him square in the jaw. The gunman fell to the floor, flailing for a grip.

Jinx stood over him and fired a hex bolt square into his back, the force of it knocking him out completely.

"Stay down!" she barked, as his head hit the floor.

'Now the hard part,' she thought to herself as the third gunman faced her. In his arms was an old man, the robber's gun pressed to his temple. The first two had been taken by surprise, but this one had been calmer than the others. He had also been too far away to get before he could grab a hostage, much to Jinx's chagrin.

The robber eyed her warily, holding the old man close as a human shield. "All right, you just stay back. Try that pink garbage with me and the old man here doesn't have to worry about leaving a tip, got it?" the robber yelled.

Jinx straightened herself up, dusted herself off and calmly stared the robber down. After a moment of glaring, she unleashed the only attack she could be sure wouldn't get the old man hurt.

She told him off.

"You idiot!" She yelled, "what is this, amateur hour? What exactly were you hoping to accomplish with this, huh? This is the worst excuse for a robbery I've ever seen!"

The robber and hostages just stared.

"First off," Jinx held out her hand and began ticking off points as she paced, "you pick the butt crack of dawn to rob a business. All the money in the register was probably emptied and put in a night deposit when they closed! All this kid here has," she gestured to the stunned barista, "is what? Fifty, sixty five in actual cash on hand for customers?"

"Si…sixty eight." The barista stuttered.

"My point exactly," Jinxed sighed. "Plus, most customers here use their debit cards, not actual cash. What were you gonna do, steal little pieces of deposit slip paper?"

"Hey, we…" the robber started, but Jinx cut him off.

"Second," Jinx crossed the room to gesture to the first unconscious gunman and gave him a kick for good measure, causing the unconscious man to moan. "Where'd you dig up this guy? No one outside of here would have even known this was going down until McTwitchy here decided to open fire and be a cowboy. You practically put up a neon sign saying you were doing this!"

"Third! Location! Look where we are. You picked a coffee shop that is THREE BLOCKS from a police station! They heard you when you opened fire, you idiot! There isn't enough rush hour traffic to cover the sounds! If fact, they're probably gathered up outside this window right now, ducking for cover in case you open fire!"

Jinx looked over her shoulder and yelled out, "Hey, 3rd Precinct! How're you all doing this morning?"

A cop siren wo-whooped in response.

"Finally!" Jinx stopped about 10 feet from the robber, a table with coffee and a Danish sitting between them, "here you are, trying to hold a hostage while the sprinklers are going off, clearly distracting you from what's going on! And the hot coffee in your eyes! What were you thinking?"

The robber blinked. "…what?"

Before the robber could properly process what Jinx had said, Jinx sprang into action. Two hex bolts flew at once, one slamming into the lip of the table between them, causing it to flip over and send its contents straight towards the robber. The aforementioned coffee on top slammed into his face, making him scream and release his hostage.

The second hex bolt hit the sprinkler system in the ceiling, causing it to go off. Instantly, curtains of water came pouring down, blinding everyone present.

The robber tried to recompose himself, but he couldn't see his hostage through the water in front of him and the swelling in his eyes. This ceased to be a problem when a small (but extremely effective) fist planted itself in his face, knocking him back.

Before he passed out, the robber noted to himself that the little girl beating him up was seriously strong for her size.

"That's for ruining my morning!" Jinx screamed as she continued to pound the robber into unconsciousness. "That's for taking an old man hostage! And that's for sucking so hard as a criminal!"

She finished with an overall frustrated scream as she planted her boot in his side for good measure.

After several seconds, the water stopped, and the cops swarmed in and took over.

As things calmed down and explanations were given, Jinx planted herself on a curb with a dry blanket (courtesy of the Jump City 3rd Precinct) and a hot cup of coffee and a bagel (courtesy of one grateful, lanky barista). She was relieved that things were over and that no one got hurt. She was equally relived that not once did the police point their guns at her when they came charging in.

As she pondered her good luck, a shadow crept over her, signaling that she was no longer alone. When she looked up, a familiar looking lieutenant was standing beside her.

"Miss, uh, Jinx? Officer Whitmore, third Precinct. I, uh, busted you about a year or so ago for theft at the Jump City mall?"

"Oh yeah, I remember that one. DVD heist, wasn't it? Good times…" Jinx half-joked to the nervous officer as she sipped her coffee. Idly she wondered if now was when they would ask her to come downtown for further questioning.

"Yeah… well anyway, we just finished interviewing everyone here and, well, we wanted to say thank you."

Jinxed paused in mid-sip.

"We all know your history and how difficult it must be to make such a shift, you know, to being a good guy…errm…girl, and all. Everyone here said you were a real hero today. They said if you hadn't jumped in when you did, the man by the window might have seriously hurt someone, or worse."

Jinx stood up and handed her towel to the officer. "Thanks. Hey, I'm a Titan now, right? This is what we're supposed to do, so…yeah. Go good guys." She awkwardly said. To accent it, she did a little fist pump in the air.

"Well, we just wanted to say thanks anyway," said officer Whitmore, "and to let you know that the 3rd Precinct has your back."

Jinx caught herself smiling. "Thank you," she said as the officer nodded and went about his business.

Before she could take another sip of her coffee, she found herself interrupted again.

"Excuse me, miss?" Another voice, a bit shakier than the last, called out.

Jinx turned to see the old man from before, now considerably wetter and looking much relived, standing before her.

"Oh, hi. I, uh, didn't recognize you without a gun to your head," she joked.

The old man stared in shock.

"Sorry, I'm not too up on the good guy humor," Jinx sheepishly mumbled.

"That's alright. You know, I think we've met before," the old man said. "You once robbed my movie theater, the Imperial? I'm pretty sure it was you…"

Jinx blushed with embarrassment, "Sorry about that. I know it sounds silly, but I'm a good guy now. At least, trying to be."

"Little lady, you did that and more back there," the man said. "My name is Tobin Greenwood, and I happen to be the owner of Imperial Entertainment. May I say you were simply magnificent back there?"

"Thank you," Jinx said. Internally she was struggling with receiving so much positive encouragement, but she shrugged it off. It felt good, just really, really weird.

"Young lady, I would like to offer you a set of free movie passes, good for any film at my theaters, even the 3D ones." With that, Mr. Greenwood took two tickets out of his pocket and handed them to the stunned witch.

"Thank you," Jinx said again. She felt like she was stuck on repeat.

"Also, if you ever need a side job, please give me a call. We could always use some promotional talent, and having a Titan would be incredible publicity!" Mr. Greenwood winked as he handed her a card with a number.

Dumbstruck, Jinx took the card, nodded and watched as the smiling old man turned back to discuss matters with the police.

"Huh. Maybe this hero thing isn't so bad after all," Jinx mused as she sipped her free coffee, ate her free bagel and pondered her free movie tickets.

Granted, she had missed her chance to dine at her favorite breakfast spot, but for her, it had been a good morning.

No, she thought, it was more than that.

For the first time, she had done something as a hero without the group, without Kid Flash watching, and without desperately seeking approval from her peers. She had seen a situation and reacted, and to her joy, she had reacted the way she would have hoped she would.

As she walked back to the tower, she mused to herself that maybe she could get into this hero thing a bit more, or at least volunteer for more missions.

She air was crisp, but less chilly as the sun climbed higher in the sky. The sun was shining brightly, and the city was waking up around her as she walked home, whistling an off-key tune as she went.

All in all, she thought, it was shaping up to be a pretty good day.

000

The Teen Titans are the property of DC and Warner Animation.


End file.
